Is Just Saying No The Right Way To Go?

The student list keeps growing each year that Mercury Mine Elementary School in northeast Phoenix participates in TV-Turnoff Week.

Last year, teacher Jody Taylor estimated she had about 150 students who turned off their sets every day.

This year, Taylor expects the numbers to be even greater. She keeps track of the students by having them return a signed parent slip that verifies they did activities other than watch TV.

Every slip makes the students eligible for prizes that range from pencils, books, a sleeping bag, microscopes and art sets.

Today is the beginning of the 11th-annual TV-Turnoff Week where millions of people take a break from the television for a week and see what life is like without it.

About 7.6 million people are expected to have dark television screens this week, said Frank Vespe, executive director of the TV-Turnoff Network, a non-profit organization that promotes healthier living through watching less television.

Without a doubt, many kids watch too much television. But is it a question of quantity, or quality? Having kids not watch TV altogether may help focus their attention on more positive activities, but they also miss-out on programming that may actually be informative.

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